# A tour of drug store blends, stop seven: Pinkerton Tobacco Company's Half and Half



## Nick S.

Pinkerton Tobacco Company - Half and Half
From the package:_ "Cool smoking, improved cut."_ 















In The Tin/Pouch
Inside the foil pouch is a medium brown, rough cut tobacco. It is soft to the touch and looks like most other OTC tobaccos. This tobacco is a 50/50 blend of burley and Virginia tobacco, hence the name Half and Half. The main aroma I get from this tobacco is fermented apple cider, it smells different, not bad just different. The moisture level in the pouch seemed just fine to me, but I usually dried it out for a bit anyway.

The Burn
This tobacco behaved like every other OTC tobacco I have reviewed; it packs, lights and burns with little problems. I did give it a little bit of drying time, but it didn't need much. I also experienced little to no moisture/gurgle problems throughout my smokes. 

The Smoke
Once again this falls in line with a similar flavor profile as other OTC Burley blends, and that is to be expected since this has 50% burley in it. The apple cider aroma from the pouch does transfer a bit to the smoke, but not in an aromatic way. There is also a transient sweetness, I suppose from the Virginias, but because there are 50% Virginias in this it can also become temperamental when abused. The smoke that this tobacco produces is soft and silky like many other OTC blends.

The Packaging, and Price
Like most drug store blends, this tobacco is available in both a pouch and tub. I purchased mine from www.wvsmokeshop.com and paid $3.29 for a pouch that held 1.5 ounces, which works out to $2.19 an ounce. You can also purchase a 6 pack of pouches for $17.95 which works out to $1.99 an ounce. They also sell a 12 ounce tub for $22.39 which works out to $1.87 per ounce. I am sure it is available at other online retailers, as well as drug stores and some B&Ms, but WV Smoke Shop is one of my preferred online retailers. 

The Bottom Line
For me this one was just ok and it isn't something I could see myself smoking a lot of, in fact I was growing tired of it before I finished the pouch. The Virginias do add a nice dimension to the normal OTC burley blend, but it still wasn't enough to keep my attention. It will bite if over puffed, but not with a normal smoking cadence, and for that reason I wouldn't recommend it to a newbie until they have a handle on smoking speed. But, for those of you looking for something a bit different in the OTC variety you might pick up a pouch of this to try. 

My Other Reviews
A tour of drug store blends, stop one: John Middleton's Carter Hall
A tour of drug store blends, stop two: John Middleton's Prince Albert
A tour of drug store blends, stop three: Pinkerton Tobacco Company - Granger
A tour of drug store blends, stop four: Lane Limited - Captain Black Regular (White)
A tour of drug store blends, stop five: Lane Limited - Captain Black Gold
A tour of drug store blends, stop six: John Middleton's Sugar Barrel
Ogden's of Liverpool - St. Bruno Ready Rubbed
Orlik - Golden Sliced
GL Pease - Lagonda
Peterson - Irish Flake
Peterson - University Flake
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Brown Bogie
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Kendal Kentucky
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Dark Bird's Eye
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Bob's Chocolate Flake
McClelland - Deep Hollow
McClelland - Bulk #805 Carolina Deluxe
McClelland - Holiday Spirit
Peter Stokkebye - Cube Cut
Peter Stokkebye - English Luxury
Peter Stokkebye - Luxury Twist Flake
Peter Stokkebye - Luxury Navy Flake
Rattray's - Black Mallory (aged 12 years)
Mac Baren - Virginia Flake
Lane Limited - Bulk #101 BCA
Lane Limited - Bulk #102 1Q
Lane Limited - Bulk #182 BLWB
Dan Tobacco - Blue Note


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## Kelsier

Great job on the drug store blend reviews - I think a lot of people avoid them because they assume they're terrible. I recently did a similar tour in search of the one blend that embodied the nostalgic pipe smoke memories of my childhood. For me it was Carter Hall. I really wasn't a big a fan of Half & Half. To me it lacked a lot in flavor and room note - reminded me of cigarette smoke. I actually came in one night from smoking it when I had family over and they thought I had been out smoking cigarettes. This one has been designated my 'smoke if I want to piss off my wife' blend - she hates the smell of it more than any english I've smoked.


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## Nick S.

Kelsier said:


> Great job on the drug store blend reviews - I think a lot of people avoid them because they assume they're terrible. I recently did a similar tour in search of the one blend that embodied the nostalgic pipe smoke memories of my childhood. For me it was Carter Hall. I really wasn't a big a fan of Half & Half. To me it lacked a lot in flavor and room note - reminded me of cigarette smoke. I actually came in one night from smoking it when I had family over and they thought I had been out smoking cigarettes. This one has been designated my 'smoke if I want to piss off my wife' blend - she hates the smell of it more than any english I've smoked.


Thanks Tim. I had a suspicion this one didn't have a very good room note, but being as I usually don't smoke around others ant I smoke outside I couldn't make any accurate comment on it, so I didn't say anything about it. I have to admit I didn't really care for it either, my favorate so far has been sugar barrel, give that a try if you haven't yet.
I do think the OTC tobaccos do get a bad rap, especially becaues of their low price and availability. I think some people just immiedatly think they are cheap (bad) tobaccos since you can often get them at your local drug store, and they are usually next to the phillies blunts and swisher sweets...


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## freestoke

Kelsier said:


> Great job on the drug store blend reviews -


Absolutely. Love the reviews, Nick! :tu



> I think a lot of people avoid them because they assume they're terrible. I recently did a similar tour in search of the one blend that embodied the nostalgic pipe smoke memories of my childhood. For me it was Carter Hall. I really wasn't a big a fan of Half & Half. To me it lacked a lot in flavor and room note - reminded me of cigarette smoke. I actually came in one night from smoking it when I had family over and they thought I had been out smoking cigarettes. This one has been designated my 'smoke if I want to piss off my wife' blend - she hates the smell of it more than any english I've smoked.


My curiosity about H&H has ended. Let's see, tastes like cigarettes and it smells bad. Maybe I can skip that one. :lol: I have only recently arrived at the OTCs, personally, so I'm a relative OTC newbie. Even at NY prices, I may have to start seeing what's behind the counter at the drug store from time to time. A one-time purchase won't destroy my financial security -- yet.


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## Nick S.

freestoke said:


> Absolutely. Love the reviews, Nick! :tu
> 
> My curiosity about H&H has ended. Let's see, tastes like cigarettes and it smells bad. Maybe I can skip that one. :lol: I have only recently arrived at the OTCs, personally, so I'm a relative OTC newbie. Even at NY prices, I may have to start seeing what's behind the counter at the drug store from time to time. A one-time purchase won't destroy my financial security -- yet.


Thanks, yeah half and half is at the bottom of my list so far... not horrible but there are better options.


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